Mister Terrific Actor Edi Gathegi Says He Was 'Assured' His Killed Off X-Men Character Would Return in Future Films, but Well-Received Superman Role Is More Than Making Up for It

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16 hours ago

Edi Gathegi is wowing audiences as the scene-stealing Mister Terrific in James Gunn's Superman, but his big-screen superhero journey got off to a troubling start.
Gathegi played Darwin, the short-lived mutant in 2011's X-Men: First Class (which, coincidentally, starred Lex Luthor actor Nicholas Hoult as Hank / Beast). In the film, Darwin is able to reactively evolve (hence the name), but is easily killed by Sebastian Shaw. X-Men fans were surprised at Darwin's fate, given the character's established invulnerability in the comics.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gathegi recalled how he had serious concerns about the plot of X-Men: First Class, which he expressed to his agent.
'I was in London after I'd just been offered the role, and they gave me a couple of hours to read the script to determine whether or not I wanted to do it,' Gathegi explained.
'So I read it, and I called my agents to say, 'Hey, listen, I have a problem with the fact that this character is the only Black character in the film aside from Zoë Kravitz's character. I am also the only mutant who meets an untimely demise halfway through the film.' It was 2009 at the time, and I was like, 'Killing the Black guy first is so played out. I can't do this.''
Gathegi said that following talks, he was 'assured' that Darwin's death as we see it in X-Men: First Class was part of a long-term storytelling plan that would have seen his character brought back to life in future films in the franchise.
'So there were conversations that happened, and then they assured us that it was essential for the storytelling in order to motivate the mutants to avenge my [character's] death,' he said. 'They also fully intended to bring my character back as they do in the comics. [Darwin] can't die; he regenerates. So we held onto the hope that they would honor their word.'
This, however, did not happen, and Darwin failed to return in any of the subsequent Fox X-Men films (Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, or the most recent X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix). This, Gathegi said, came as a 'surprise.'
'... I thought that I would be returning to that franchise over and over again,' he said. 'I thought that there was potential for a bigger future. It was actually a surprise to never get the call to suit up again.'
Then: '... the way that they handled my character was a fumble.'Now, Gathegi is philosophical about his history with the X-Men, saying 'I've moved well beyond that.'
'... when I didn't come back for X-Men: Apocalypse, I just knew it was done,' he explained. 'So I didn't really look back, to be honest with you. I speak about it when people bring it up, but I made peace with this years ago.'
Fast-forward 14 years and Gathegi looks set for a long-term, high-profile role in James Gunn's rebooted DC Universe. After wowing critics and audiences as Mister Terrific in Superman (which got off to a big start at the box office), James Gunn is reportedly considering a Mister Terrific spinoff TV series. The expectation is that we will see more of this character, especially after that post credits scene.
For Gathegi, his experience with Superman couldn't be more different than X-Men: First Class.
'The pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction,' he said. 'With X-Men: First Class, the message that I received as an actor and as a man of color in this world is you can be the most powerful mutant in the world and they'll never let you reach your full potential. Whereas with Mister Terrific in Superman, the message that I'm receiving is you can be one of the most intelligent characters in the universe, and you can make a difference. You can help save the world. It's a different level of conversation.'
Check out IGN's Superman review to find out what we think, and then head over to our Superman Ending and Post-Credits Explained to find out what it all means.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [e-mail] or confidentially at [e-mail].